Gemini
by sparks of red
Summary: Serena is rather tired of convincing people her bushy haired, know-it-all sister is A. her twin, and B. a Malfoy. But when her one of her best friends reveals a rather startling secret, a journey is launched to relive an old legend of mischief.
1. Year One

**Chapter One: Year One**

Heavy smoke from the train filled the crowded station, making it hard to see, and shouting mothers and indignantly screeching owls made conversation nearly impossible. Platform 9 ¾ was a teeming, stewing mess of noise, life, and nervous students. My heart was beating frantically. I couldn't believe it was actually _happening- _ I was really leaving. Off to Hogwarts. My stomach fluttered nervously.

"Serena? Serena, honey- there you are!" My mother hovered around me nervously, smoothing down my hair.

"Mom, mom, I'm fine," I said, batting her hand away. "Stop worrying."

"I'm not worrying!" She declared. I raised one eyebrow at her. Her hair was a frizzy mess hovering at least five inches off the side of her face. The height of her hair frizz always corresponded to her state of anxiety. "Oh, all right. Maybe I am- just a little bit."

"There you are!" My sister, Chandra, and my father came strolling towards us, having made their way past the wall as well. Chandra was hauling a trunk identical to mine, and Dad was carrying our owl, Giovanni. She ran to us and wrapped me in a huge hug, despite the heavy trunk she was carrying behind her. We'd both been waiting for this day for years.

Dad took one look at Mom and burst out laughing.

"Stop worrying so much! They'll be fine, honestly, 'Mione."

"I'm not worrying," she snapped.

He smirked at her and patted at her hair for a few seconds before she batted his hand away.

"Okay, listen you too," she said, bending down to stare in our faces. "Be good. Eat your vegetables. Owl us every week. Don't forget to—"

"Hermione, they'll be fine."

She bit her wobbling lip and straightened up. "I just can't believe you two are leaving."

Chandra and I exchanged a knowing smile, and simultaneously reached out to hug her.

"We'll be fine, Mom," I said.

"Of course you'll be fine," our dad said, his familiar smirk spreading over his face. "First of all, you are my daughters. Second of all, you'll be Slytherins, both of you, and there's no way—"

"_What was that?" _Mother's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I think you've mistaken…"

Chandra and I backed off from the pair slowly, again sharing a smile. I remembered only one year ago, when Tristan had left for school, and the two of them had argued for long and hard months over whether their son would be a Slytherin and Gryffindor. Sure enough, his first letter came home to reveal he had been neatly sorted into Ravenclaw.

"Serena! Chandra!" We quickly found ourselves bombarded by two of our Weasely cousins in a sweaty pile of robes and laughter.

Fred's and Albus' faces reflected our own suppressed excitement and fear. It was their first year as well.

"You aren't scared, are you?" Fred asked, grinning wickedly despite looking slightly green.

"Of course not!" I lied.

"Oh shut up Fred," Albus said, even more green himself.

Lily, Roxanne, Yvette, Lucy, and Molly caught up to us quickly after the famous duo. Lily would join her brother Albus next year. Their elder brother, James Potter, was already a second year, like my brother. Yvette and Molly still had two years to wait, and Lucy had six. Secretly I dreaded Molly and Lucy's arrival to Hogwarts. They were just a little bit too much like their father, Uncle Percy.

"Chandra, you've got Snagglehorns all over your sweater," Yvette said, brushing distractedly at my sister.

The Weaselys weren't _technically_ our cousins, of course. But our mother was like a daughter to Grandma Weasely, so we spent nearly every Christmas and Easter with them, as well as a significant part of the summer, as did Yvette Longbottom and her parents. However, her warm feelings didn't extend to our father for some reason. She only called him _Malfoy, _and would scowl furiously at his presence for at least the first fifteen minutes of every visit- until she forgot that she hated him.

"Come on you hippogriffs! We'll miss the train!" Our brother Tristan and his best friend, James Potter, joined the pile, having already left their luggage on the train.

The four of us- Chandra, Albus, Fred, and I- gulped, paled slightly, gripped our trunks with sweaty palms, and steeled our guts to follow the pair of overly confident second years to the train. The younger cousins turned back to rejoin their parents as we began what felt like a slow, fateful march.

"Frederick Wulfric Remus Weasely! Get over here!"

Fred let out an exasperated sigh, and stuck his arms out to his sides. His parents had caught up with him, and his mother poked his robes with her wand, patting him down thoroughly, suspicion dark in her eyes.

"Dad, can't you do anything?"

Uncle George grimaced and shrugged. "Best to just let her run, mate. Hope you weren't thick enough to try to—"

Sure enough, as the words were out of his mouth, Angelina pulled several dung bombs out of a secret inner pocket and a snarling, mutated Pygmy Puff out of his left boot.

Uncle George sighed. "I thought you'd learned better than this, Fred…"

Over our cousin's desperate pleas to keep "Quincy," Chandra and I were bombarded one last time by our parents. They both hugged us tightly and wished us well.

"You too will have a great time. Learn lots, both of you," our mom said, sighing. Dad pulled her in for a sideways hug, keeping one arm around her shoulders and tucking her head under his chin.

"You two probably have no idea what's waiting for you. I hear the castle is completely different from our days, after all the rebuilding," he said. The Hogwarts Express let out a sharp, loud whistle.

"Be good!" My sister and I climbed onboard, trunks and owl in tow, and sat down in an empty compartment. We opened the window and waved at the pair of them as the train rumbled below us and began pumping steam into its gears.

"Bye!"

"We promise to owl you!"

Mom was trying hard not to cry as the train picked up speed and began moving down the tracks, and Dad's blonde hair blew in the wind forlornly. I saw his eyes- so much like my own- mist over like mother's before the train lurched forward. We waved at the quickly diminishing pair as they became smaller and smaller, disappearing into the distance.

My sister and I smiled at each other and collapsed into seats across from each other. I could tell exactly what she was thinking- because it was exactly what I was thinking. I couldn't believe we were finally off to Hogwarts.

"Chandra!" My sister's best friend since they were five years old, Izz Snow, had just joined our train compartment. She leapt up and wrapped her friend in a giant bear hug. After a few seconds of frenzied, indecipherable dialogue, the two wandered off to a new compartment, lugging trunks behind them.

I stowed away my trunk and secured Giovanni on a shelf above me, and had settled down into my seat for only about a minute when Fred and Albus burst into the compartment and collapsed next to me, Albus on my right, Fred across from us.

"Guys, guess what?" Fred grinned evilly.

"Oh no," I groaned.

"Mum let me keep Quincy in exchange for the Shocking Shizzberts in my trunk."

I groaned louder and buried my head in my hands. I hated that Puff.

The train ride passed quickly, countryside passing outside our window as we chatted away the hours. About halfway through the ride, a messy girl with tangled hair and half-tied shoes clambered into our compartment and collapsed next to Fred.

"Hey guys."

"Hi Alexa," I smiled. Alexa Jordan was like one of the other many non-official members of our family. Fred's dad and Lee Jordan, Alexa's dad, were as close as their mothers, Angelina and Katie, were. However, Fred and Alexa did not always feel quite the same warm fuzzy feelings.

She dumped a pocketful of Bertie Botts Beans and various Weasley Wizard Wheezes candies into a pile between us, much to Fred and Albus's delight.

We changed into our robes as the train approached the school and darkness settled across the nighttime landscape. The platform outside the school was covered in students shouting back and forth at each other, slightly giddy at the sudden release from parental watch. We piled into one of the tiny boats that would carry us across the lake, and did our best to block out memories of unfriendly comments from Tristan and James about a giant demon lake octopus.

"It's so beautiful…"

The dark sky glittered with diamond like stars, barely visible past the warmly glowing windows in the castle. A cold wind blew over us, and I huddled closer to Alexa.

The entrance hall was everything I'd imagined. I stood gaping stupidly at the passing ghosts and house elves until I heard a sharp bark order us to get into line.

We lined up obediently, once again feeling very small and insignificant like the First Years we were, and walked into the Great Hall for the first time. Chandra, who was standing right in front of me, squeezed my hand comfortingly as we walked inside.

"I hope we're in the same House," she whispered to me.

"So do I," I said. Honestly, I felt ready to puke with nerves. What if I was put in _Hufflepufff?_ I keenly felt every eye inspect our line with curiosity and judgment as the faceless barking voice somewhere up front instructed us on the Sorting. Somewhere in the back of my mind I hoped I didn't have the barker as a professor.

I stood there blankly, wallowing in suspense, until I was shocked out of it by hearing "Jordan, Alexandria!" shouted across the hall.

"Ravenclaw!" I gasped, shocked. The girl who'd climbed up and jumped out of a 30-foot tree at the age of five not daring enough for Gryffindor? The girl who just last Sunday framed Fred for blowing up a public toilet not in Slytherin? She grinned and sat down next to my brother Tristan at the table decked out in blue.

I stood there anxiously as the line inched our way. Finally, I watched as my sister ("Malfoy, Chandra!") took her turn sitting on the stool with the sorting hat.

"Gryffindor!"

My heart skipped a beat as the gold and crimson table burst into surprised applause. She grinned and ran to join James. It made sense. I'd always kind of known she would be a lioness. She was too—

"Malfoy, Serena!"

Oh _damn. _

I walked numbly toward the stool, stumbling slightly halfway along, sitting down, and shoving the hat on my head.

"_Oh, twins!" _said a voice in my head. I gasped with surprise. _"But not very similar sisters, I see…" _It mused. _"No, not at all. Much too feisty, I see, and stubborn. A lot of determination, too…" _I sat there in painful suspense for the longest two and a half minutes of my life while the hat muttered to itself. Finally-

"Slytherin!"

I froze, shocked. My eyes darted over to my sister at the Gryffindor table, whose cheery smile was fading off her face. I stood up numbly and walked towards the table decorated in green and silver to the sound of riotous applause and cheering. Across the hall, the Gryffindors were booing softly.

I sat down, and some tall, terrifying sixth year clapped me on the back. "We finally have a Malfoy where they belong! Your sister scared us for a minute there."

Chandra and I had never been apart for longer than an evening or so at a time, when she would go to sleepovers with Izzy, or I would run off with Albus and Fred. But now- different houses? I waited on the end of my seat as the line inched forward.

"Potter, Albus!"

A sort of hush fell over the Great Hall. Every eye was glued on my would-be cousin/best friend as he sat down and put the Sorting Hat on. The pause was nearly as long as mine.

"Slytherin!"

I cheered as loud as the rest of my house as the small dark-haired boy that looked just like his father came to sit next to me. I grinned at him stupidly.

"Heya."

"Hi."

"Can you believe…?"

"No," he breathed, the initial excitement wearing off to allow his sudden realization of fear set in. "Oh god… James will be insufferable!" he said, paling visibly. "Mum will be furious!"

"She'll get over it," I said, patting his shoulder vaguely. I was already worrying about _my _mom. "She loves you, no matter which house." I was half speaking to Albus, half to myself. At least I had Dad. He'd be absolutely thrilled.

The line wore on, and I found myself much less anxious. I was sorted, and I had at least one person with me. Fred's sorting was probably some sort of school record. The hat barely touched his head before it shouted out "Gryffindor!"

Finally, after the last student ("Zabini, Gabriel") sat down at our table, and the feast had been eaten, we were heading to our Common Room for the very first time.

"Al! Serena!" We spun around to find Fred half-hidden behind a stone gargoyle. We snuck away from the line of new Slytherins to talk to him.

"Fred!" I hissed. "How will you find your Common Room?"

He shrugged the question off. "Sooner or later Chandra will tell me. You know her."

We never found out what it was he wanted, because just then- as the line of Slytherins rounded the far corner, a sour looking cat came around the opposite corner, and a certain Pygmy Puff was missing from its oh-so-secure pocket.

"Quincy! _Quincy!_" Fred looked around desperately for his beloved monster. Finding it was easy despite his small size- besides being bright orange, he was hissing and growling his way down the hall.

I felt the blood leave my face. The furiously snarling Quincy had spotted the ugly cat and was honing in for a death kill. The cat let off an indignant yeowl and a quick clash of claws later, the three of us found ourselves trying to tear the tiny, murderous Puff off of the cat.

"_What are you doing?" _

Our heads snapped up. A decrepit, ancient-looking man came limping around the corner. His eyes had an evil glint, and didn't look like much more than skin stretched over an animated skeleton. His thin white hair floated around his head as if it was just waiting to leave.

"_What are you doing to Mr. Norwell?"_ All three of us flew away from the cat, throwing our hands in the air in a gesture of innocence.

"Nothing!"

With a wild gleam in his eyes, he dragged all three of us by our elbows down a hallway and up a spiral staircase, leaving us in a large office before limping off, muttering to himself.

"You just _had _to bring Quincy, didn't you?" I demanded, rounding on Fred.

"Hey, don't gang up on him," he said, petting the small fiend lovingly as it slept peacefully, suddenly looking innocent again. "He was just hungry."

"_Hungry?" _

"What did you **do **to that thing?" Al asked, looking pale and green.

I glanced around the room, distracted and agitated. "Guys," I interrupted. "Where are we?" They joined my searching glance. There was a large mahogany desk in the middle of the room, several tall bookcases, glass cases full of mysterious odds and ends, and a back wall filled with portraits of sleeping wizards.

"Oh Merlin," Fred whispered, now as green as Al. "I think it's the _Headmistress's Office!" _

That was it. I was dead.

Before we had a chance to gain a full grip on our terror, the door slammed open behind us. Headmistress McGonagall came striding in, sealing our doom, the frail, evil man behind her.

"Mr. Filch tells me you three were—oh for the love of Merlin!" The matronly woman had looked at the three of us and suddenly lost her steam, collapsed in her chair and gripped her temples. "Mr. Filch, you can go, I will handle this," she said. He gave us a long, menacing look before leaving.

The three of us glanced at each other, confused.

"Excuse me, I'll be right back," she said. "_Don't _touch anything!"

We stood there in the awkward silence for several seconds. I became aware of a murmuring behind me. I whipped around when I heard my name.

"…Obviously a Malfoy…"

Two of the portrait figures were no longer feigning sleep. They froze, caught in the act.

"You three. What are your names?" The figure speaking was a greasy haired, hook-nosed man.

"Fred Weasley," my friend said, then continued with our names, seeing our faces. "Serena Malfoy, and Albus Potter."

"I knew it. Look at that god-awful hair…" I wasn't sure who he meant. "You. Which Weasley are you descended from?"

"I- Uhh- My father is George Weasley."

"Wonderful," he said, sarcasm dripping off every syllable. "And you are very obviously a Potter," he spat at Albus. "I could tell right away." He turned a critical eye to me. "And you… A female Malfoy…Interesting." He sank into thought for a second. "At least you're living up to your legacy."

"Really, Severus. Don't encourage such prejudice." The other portrait showed a wizard with a long white beard and sparkling blue eyes. He sighed quietly. "I just wish…"

"What?" the other portrait sneered. "Miniature Weasley and Potter the Third getting along with a _Malfoy?_ House unity has its limits."

McGonagall- in all her fearsome glory- re-entered the office.

"Now," she started, sighing deeply. "Now that I have… mentally prepared myself, what were you three doing to Mr. Filch's cat?"

"Nothing!" I cried out. "Trying to save it!"

"It was Fred's crazed Pygmy Puff- he thirsts for blood!"

"Hey!"

She glared at the three of us, trying to discern the truth. "Very well," she sighed.

"Wait- you three _weren't _brought up here for fighting?" The black haired face seemed incredulous.

"Why would we be fighting?" Albus asked.

"Severus, just so you know, Albus is in your house," the Headmistress calmly commented.

As the man- who I realized was the infamous Professor Severus Snape- began choking at the unexpected and apparently unwanted news, the door slammed open and Chandra burst in, gripping me in a bear hug.

"Serena! What happened? I heard you were taken to the—"

"Oh now this is rich, really," Snape drawled, composure regained. "Granger's daughter and Malfoy's daughter, the best of friends… I have to puke."

"How did you know..?" Chandra seemed taken aback at the rather rude painting.

"The hair! All four of you, but you especially! That bushy mane has to be an offspring of Granger's. As if those bloody Potter and Weasley genes weren't bad enough."

"I don't see you complaining about the Malfoy blonde," the other portrait commented.

"Yes, well…"

"Serena and I aren't _friends_," Chandra interjected.

The dark man raised one eyebrow at our hugging forms.

"We're sisters. Twins," I finished.

"Enough!" the Headmistress cried, reclaiming sanity. "I honestly don't care _what _you did or didn't do to that infernal cat anymore. Just don't do it again. Now all four of you- off to your houses. And yes, Severus, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy got married about fourteen years ago."

Professor Snape stared at us bug eyed as we left the office, still paralyzed in surprise. As we left, I heard one last comment from the old Headmaster.

"I don't know what you look so glum about Severus. I get so bored pretending to sleep all the time. _This_ should be **quite** entertaining…"


	2. Bonds

**A/N: It's another long chapter… And it's a little prologue-esque again, but it's necessary, trust me, and (I hope) still good. =] **

I woke up, blinked twice slowly, looked at the clock, and nearly jumped out of bed. Breakfast was ending in ten minutes. I scrambled out from the covers, ripped the tangled sheets from my limbs, flung my pajamas off, stepped into a pair of jeans, shoved my arms into the sleeves of a white button up shirt, and began buttoning it up with one hand, grabbing a grey sweater with the green Slytherin crest off a chair with the other hand as I skipped down the stairs, through the common room and hurried off to the Great Hall.

"Morning Sunshine," said Vivian, not even looking up from her copy of the Daily Prophet. Cynicism laced her voice.

"Hey, I'm on time, aren't I?"

"Technically, I suppose."

Vivian was my closest Slytherin girl friend. Probably my closest girl friend period- if you didn't count my sister Chandra- and would likely be my very best friend if it wasn't for Albus and Fred.

Vivian Kwan's family was from Korea, and still lived there, but sent Vivian to Hogwarts. Her father was the Korean Ministry of Magic's chair of international relations to Britain, and needed every advantage he could get to strengthen the two countries' tentative friendship. I'd once asked her if she resented being sent here. She'd answered quite honestly that she had- until she'd met me and become better friends.

Last year, I had been walking to back to the common room after Charms and, on a rather cocky whim, had decided to take a completely different route. Still a spritely, naïve Second Year then, I had taken a wrong turn on the top level of the dungeons and stumbled face-first into some seventh year's disastrous Potions project. About halfway down that hallway, realizing I was completely lost, I had opened a door at random, hoping to find _somebody _or _something _that could help me. Unfortunately, the room was one of Hogwarts' infamous empty classrooms- but instead of being occupied by a furtive, infatuated teenage couple, the small, dusty room held only a few abandoned desks, some old textbooks, and, lurking in the darkest corner like a wild animal, a black cauldron bubbling with a dark, viscous liquid. It made sickening plopping noises as it sloshed itself around and filled the room with the smell of decay, death, and tuna salad. As I watched- horror struck- a small moth fluttered into the room through the door behind me, ventured too close to the ominous cauldron, and was sucked under into the black depths.

For two breathless heartbeats, nothing happened.

Then, with a flash of sudden movement, the moth came thrusting back out. Except it wasn't exactly a moth anymore. Already the size of a large grapefruit, the winged demon continued growing and morphing, swelling to a wingspan of three feet in a few seconds. It sprouted hair, several pairs of eyes, and what looked like _fangs._

Just my luck, too.

Screaming, I turned around and ran back down the hallway, smacking headfirst into Vivian. I scrambled back to my feet, began screaming again, and motioned furiously at her for a few indecipherable seconds before yanking her back up myself and running for our lives down the corridor.

The moth-like entity was on our heels, letting loose ear-splitting shrieks of animalistic rage. We suddenly found ourselves facing a dead end, the hallway ending in a blank stone wall. Fabulous.

I spun around, looked to my left to see Vivian standing her ground— or at least giving a valiant attempt to, despite her shaking— and holding her wand out. I followed suit, and watched as the "moth" came closer, intent on violence. I closed my eyes and threw the first spell that came to mind at it.

Luckily, Vivian did the same, and somehow the combined force of our two random hexes counteracted the effects of the potion. With a sickening sound, the bug blew apart, spraying it's abnormally enlarged guts all over the walls of the dungeon hallway, and Vivian and I. I opened one eye carefully to see a small white moth flutter away from where, moments ago, its monstrous counterpart had been.

I let loose a shuddering breath of relief, and looked over at the girl to my left. She was completely covered in moth juice, just as I was. I didn't even know her beyond her name, and where she sat in our classes, and yet here we were. She looked ridiculous. A large glop of something unpleasant fell out of my hair, and I started laughing. She joined me. Our laughter echoed off the stony walls, evidently loud enough to attract the attention of a professor walking nearby, which was lucky, because a few seconds after that the goo had starting stinging painfully.

One equally painful explanation to the Headmistress and two nights in the Hospital Wing later, Vivian and I were fast and inseparable friends.

I smirked to myself at the memory as I poured my tea.

"What?" she asked, glancing sideways at my face.

"Just remembering how we met."

"Oh." She flipped the page crisply, hiding a smile.

"You should do your hair like that again, it—"

"Be quiet, you. Get some breakfast before disappears."

I reached for an apple and served myself fried eggs, still smirking uncontrollably.

"Is that my sweater?" She'd finally looked up from her paper for a minute.

"Dunno," I said, mouth full of eggs.

She leaned over and checked the tag behind my neck. I cringed. It tickled.

"Yes it is! Serena!"

"Sorry!" I said, throwing my hands up. "I was kind of in a rush!"

She turned back to the paper and I sniffed the sweater secretly. Mint and oak. Definitely Vivian's. I was halfway through eating when Albus and Gabriel joined us.

Gabriel Zabini and Albus Potter had become just as close friends as Vivian and I, and just as quickly and unexpectedly. But if there was some equally unlikely or death-defying circumstances around their friendship as ours, they refused to tell us so.

"You two are awfully late," Vivian commented.

"Early, actually," Albus corrected.

"We already ate. We simply returned to keep you two company," Gabriel said, reaching across the table to take the cover of the Prophet from Vivian's hands.

"Serena- you look awful," Albus said.

I looked up at him, fork halfway to my mouth, dumbstruck and furious. It was Vivian's turn to smirk.

"Well you look like Bathilda the Barmy's backside," I retorted, grabbing a spoon and examining my fish-eyed reflection. It was true though. My normally straight blonde hair was sticking up on the right side in a tangled mess and there were red crease marks across my face where I had slept on my hand. I made a face, sticking out my tongue, and threw the spoon back down.

"Whatever," I muttered.

A few minutes later, we were walking to Potions, which- luckily enough- we had with the Ravenclaws.

Vivian sat down at our usual spot, a pair of seats near the middle of the classroom, with Potter and Zabini behind us. Alexa Jordan and Zelda Renaldi, our Ravenclaw Sisters as we would call them, came to sit by our right, as usual, but were acting strangely. They huddled over their desk, talking to themselves in hushed voices. I toned them out for a while, watching a fly hover lazily over Professor Visigoth's left ear, until I was shocked out of it.

"_Tonight?" _Alexa's voice was tight with surprise and worry.

I looked over at them, raising one eyebrow in curiosity. I had assumed they were planning some prank- or, rather, Alexa was planning something to get back at Fred Weasley for his latest infraction and was dragging Zelda into it. But her tone threw me off.

Zelda glanced around the classroom furtively and gestured downwards with her hands quickly, trying to quiet her friend before nodding the affirmative.

I chewed the inside of my lip in thought, but quickly afterward Professor Visigoth waved off the fly and began class.

After lunch, Vivian and I headed to the library, to our usual table near the back. It was a perfect spot- right beside a window looking out onto the lake, near the stacks of books, but not too close to the Restricted Section, which always attracted Frau Hilda's attention. Alexa and Zelda joined as, as they usually do, but were still muttering to themselves. After a few minutes, I lost patience.

"Guys. What's going on?"

"What?" Zelda seemed surprised to see us sitting there. "Oh- nothing."

"Right. I distinctly heard Alexa in Potions earlier. So what's going on tonight?"

"Oh, you know. Study session."

I raised one disbelieving eyebrow at her.

"By which she means, uh… revenge on Fred."

"Of course," I continued, still unconvinced. Her words lacked the usual passion and fire they had when planning stunts. Plus, they would usually include us- or at least ask our opinion.

"This is to get back at him for turning your knapsack into a large toad, right?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said, waving her hand absently and turning back to Zelda.

"_Really_," I said, trying not to sound too thrilled. I'd caught her. "Because I thought you got back at him for that already with the miniature snapping turtles in his bed sheets, and now it was a matter of pre-empting the next attack." I smirked, recalling the speech she'd given us last Thursday. With a layout of Hogwarts maps, diagrams, and charts, she had given us a long, technical rundown of her options.

"Oh- right- I just meant…" She fumbled, stammering.

"Come on, what's really going on? It's just us."

Alexa looked from me to Zelda, whose large brown eyes were wide with anxiety. She shook her head slightly, making her wavy hair bounce slightly.

"I wish I could tell you, honestly," Alexa said.

I turned to Zelda, eyes narrowing. "What's going on?" It was no longer a question.

"Look, I- We have to go," she said, gathering up her books and yanking Alexa out the door. I watched them go then turned to Vivian.

"What do you think?" I asked her.

"Obviously hiding something. Seems serious." She sank into thought for a second, her steely black eyes calculating. "I think they'll tell us. It's just a matter of waiting."

I was not good at _waiting_.

Which was probably why I went to Fred- my partner in impatience.

"Fred," I greeted him, flopping down beside him on one of the Gryffindor common room couches. Several tall, imposing Gryffindors glared down at me disapprovingly, staring pointedly at the Slytherin crest stitched on my (Well- Vivian's) sweater.

"Hey Serena," he said. "How'd you get in here?"

I pointed at a First Year quivering with his friends in the corner and smiled my best toothy evil grin.

"You'd better watch it. _Your kind _usually isn't appreciated in here."

I snorted. "I'd like to see you and your Gryffindor courage work up the guts to venture into _our _common room," I bantered.

"Where's Vivian?" he asked.

"Where's Pablo?"

"Fine then, if that's how you're playing it…" He crossed his arms and faced the opposite wall. He shook his head to flip the tips of his slightly shaggy orange hair for added drama.

I sighed, trying not to smile. "Fred, I needed to talk to you."

"Uh-oh!" he squealed, turning to face me, face shining with an unhindered smile. "Trouble in your dungeonous paradise? Or are you finally professing your undying love for me?"

"Fred!" I smacked his shoulder roughly.

"What?" he said, smiling good-naturedly.

"This is serious. Something's going on, but I'm not sure what."

His eyebrows furrowed in thought. "What do you mean?"

"Alexa and Zelda have been talking to themselves all day. They're hiding something, I just don't know what. And its not about you- I checked. I think you, Al, and I need to talk some time soon where I we can't be overheard easily."

"Is it that serious?"

"I dunno. I just want your opinions."

Pablo joined us then, walking down the dormitory stairs. Pablo Montoya was Fred's right-hand Gryffindor man. However, he had a certain honest nobility and a resulting lack of interest in pranks and trouble, but he tolerated his friend's antics with a shrewd humor.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Not much," Fred said. "Serena just felt the need to share her girl problems." I rolled my eyes dramatically, but secretly appreciated his cover, even though it surprised me. Fred's greatest virtue was his clear, unquestioning honesty. He'd pull ridiculous pranks, humiliate even his closest friends, and was in and out of detention almost every week- but lie? Never.

"Hey you!" My head swirled. A burly sixth year boy, who I recognized as one of the Gryffindor Chasers, was staring me down with the intensity of an enraged bull moose.

"Y- Yes?" I said, trying to look innocent. My mouth suddenly went dry.

Very quickly after that I found myself deported outside the red and gold common room. Not surprising, really. I stuck my hands in my pockets and shuffled back to the Slytherin dungeons.

I kind of liked the Slytherin common. It didn't exude the warmth that Gryffindor's did, but it had a calming, thoughtful atmosphere in my opinion. And it was much harder to find- a valuable asset, in my opinion. You never know what kind of riff raff will come wandering into your common room otherwise.

It was on the lowest level of Hogwarts, three stories underground, and spiraled out much farther east than the rest of the castle. The entry way was guarded by a large statue of a dragon made out of obsidian stone and jade, which would coil and twist open to reveal the entryway after hearing the password. Vibrant green banners hung on the dark stone walls, and in the center of the far wall there was a tapestry of a silver snake that undulated and hissed at the room's occupants. The room was filled with chairs and couches made of leather and green corduroy, small side tables, and fireplaces on the left and right sides. But the best was the ceiling.

The Slytherin common room ceiling was similar to the Great Hall's, but I suspected that it was real, not simply a charm. Instead of the usual stone, the ceiling was made of some sort of super-strength glass that looked up into the belly of the lake. Fish and squid would regularly swim by, and occasionally the famous lake octopus would make an appearance. During the day, the water cast dappled, greenish reflections of light into the room.

I joined Albus, Gabriel and Vivian in our usual corner. Gabriel and Vivian were absorbed in a game of chess. When I say absorbed, I mean it. The tapestry snake could have burst out of the wall and begun wrecking havoc on the entire common room and they wouldn't even look up. Probably.

"Albus," I muttered. "We need to talk."

"Okay?" He raised one eyebrow slightly.

"I mean the three of us." He knew which three I meant. Fred, Al and I had entered this school together, and we would leave it together. Mates for life.

"When?"

"Tonight. In the usual spot. Midnight."

"Why is it _always _midnight?" he asked, sighing.

"Ask Fred," I said, shrugging and trying to sound nonchalant. But honestly I loved it. The drama, the thrill of avoiding capture, the romance surrounding that hour…

"You wart-eating—" Vivian stood up suddenly, obviously upset, and I looked over in time to see Gabriel's rook smash her king to small chunks of dust and stone. I couldn't help laughing- honestly!- which earned me a glare from Vivian. I grinned cheekily at back her.

I apologized later as we got ready for bed back in our dormitory. She merely glared at me, but I could tell I was forgiven. She was deadly competitive, but conceded defeat relatively well. Much better than Fred at any rate.

After showering and changing into pajamas, I grimaced at my reflection in the mirror of our small side bathroom. My hair was still a mess. Now it was just a wet mess. Grabbing a brush I tried to straighten it out. Usually I didn't resemble my mother so much. My blonde hair was usually content to lay peacefully on the side of my head.

I made a face, stretching out my skin to stare at my grey eyes. It was rather spooky really, how much they looked like dad's. My nose and chin as well. My sister Chandra's eyes, as well as our brother Tristan's, were the same warm brown color as Mum's, and their faces had the same soft curves. I was not so lucky. But my eyebrows- those I recognized as hers. And my mouth.

Sighing, I shuffled to bed to sleep for a few hours before sneaking out.

-One Week Later-

The entire ordeal was almost forgotten. Almost- if it hadn't been for Alexa and Zelda's continued secrecy. Our library table was unnaturally quiet without them, without Alexa's rambunctious laughter, enthusiasm and quick wit, or Zelda's whole minded focus on the '_actual homework', _her shy exteriorand brilliant mind. Their loss was a black void in the middle of our lives.

Until one day, the Tuesday after the initial incident.

I looked up from a Herbology essay to see the two of them walking towards us, looking over their shoulders. I glanced at Vivian. She looked surprised but expectant. They slid across from us to sit down.

"Serena, Vivian…" Alexa began.

"We need to talk to you," Zelda said.

"Oh really?" I said. Zelda looked at me and nodded. I glanced at Vivian again. Would we finally find out what their big secret was all about? She sensed my question and bit her lip off to the side and twitched her nose in a way that I knew to mean 'I hope so.'

"Listen," she started. "I'm not a girl from West Cambridge. My mother doesn't work in a Magical Creatures Regulation outpost, and my father isn't a Muggle electrician."

She took a shuddering breath and looked at Alexa for moral support. "In fact- I wasn't even born in England."

There was a long pause as we waited for the rest.

"As far as I know, w- I was born somewhere in Eastern Europe, most likely Estonia. I spent most of my life in and out of Wizard foster families and orphanages, until I came to London about five years ago with the foster family I was with then."

There was another pause. I reached across to take her hand. "Zelda- you know we don't care where you come from. We still love you the same."

"Good," she said, smiling. "Because my parents weren't… weren't human, exactly."

This time the momentary pause hung around our heads like molasses, thick and sticky.

"From what w- I can tell from the pictures, and… other things… my mother was a vampire, and my father was a werewolf."

"You're kidding."

She smiled softly in a sad way. "No. And I don't know what happened to them. It's likely my father was killed. Werewolves aren't really… appreciated in society, especially in Eastern Europe. And my mother… Well, vampires aren't really the nurturing type to begin with. But…" her voice diminished to a weak whisper. "It's unlikely she's alive as well."

"I'm so sorry," I whispered. Vivian nodded her silent empathy, her eyes wide and shining.

"It's okay. But the real reason I needed to tell you guys about this is, well... I suppose you could say… My eating habits."

"What do you mean? Your eating habits?" Vivian's face wrinkled in confusion. She ate every meal with us in the Great Hall. I'd never noticed anything odd about her… eating habits.

"Yes. I'm perfectly normal almost all the time- except once a month."

She paused, sighing heavily and worrying a strand of her thick, curly brunette hair before continuing.

"On the full moon, if I don't… take care of certain things… I- I lose control. Normally I have perfect control over my- I guess you could say- special abilities. But not if I miss that."

"What do you mean?"

She hesitated.

"You can tell us, Zelda."

She let out a shuddering breath and squeezed her eyes shut. "Somehow- the vampire characteristics and werewolf characteristics combined in a way that gives me control over everything as long as every full moon I… take care of my animalistic impulses. Namely, that I… suck the blood from a few animals."

"So when you say control…"

She grinned devilishly. "I can turn into a wolf at will."

My eyebrows shot into my hairline with surprise, trying to soak it all in.

"You see- normally a werewolf has no control, and doesn't turn into a wolf so much as a deformed canine being. But a vampire maintains human form all the time, and can control when they… when they feed. So somehow…" she shrugged, grinning sideways. "Somehow the combination is completely different."

She looked at both of us in turn, trying to gauge our reactions to her news. "Pretty crazy right?"

"Well listen," I said. "This doesn't change anything, okay? You're still Zelda, and we're all still best mates." Vivian nodded in agreement. "There's no getting rid of us."

"Thanks guys," she said.

"But the real reason we came to you," Alexa said, "is because we need your help."

"Help?"

"Yeah. The Headmistress knows about Zelda's background, but none of the other teachers do. And she doesn't want them to. You can understand why. The prejudice, the fear… it's not a pretty picture."

"But some people are starting to notice something's going on in the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid, for one, and Firenze."

"So what are you going to do?" Vivian asked.

"Well, I've been moving farther back in the forest so they'd be less likely to notice. But that's also more dangerous. I can handle myself pretty well, but I'm afraid one day I'll come up against something I can't handle. And…"

"What?"

"Well, from the research I've done… There aren't many like me, but it seems that it gets worse with puberty."

"Worse?"

She nodded, going pale. "The hunger is stronger, the pull of the full moon gets worse, and I get more and more out of control."

"Oh."

"So we have, what, at least two good years to figure out how to help you?" All eyes went on Vivian. "You know we're going to help, right?"

"N- No, you guys can't, it's too dangerous—"

"Zelda, we're in it together now," Alexa said, taking her hand supportively.

"You guys don't know what you're getting yourself into," she said.

"I guess we'll find out then, won't we?" Vivian said.

Zelda beamed a gigantic grin, her eyes misting over. "You guys… You're the best." We leaned across the table and wrapped her in a group bear hug.

"So… Any ideas?" Alexa beamed across at us mischievously, back at full power to her usual self now that the secret was out.

I cut my eyes across the table to Vivian. She met my gaze and smiled, biting the inside of her cheek in thought.

It was simple. We just had to be out there with her. But we would need a way to sneak out, and a way to avoid being chewed to pieces by all the creatures and monsters out there. And some way to stay inconspicuous, and to help control Zelda later on. Wands could only get us so far.

That's when it hit me. It was so obvious. How many times had I heard the stories while staying with the Weasley clan?

"Guys- I've got an idea."

A wonderful, awful idea.

**Last line borrowed from The Grinch. Haha. **

**Please review! =] It helps a lot with the writing process. **


	3. The Transformation

**Chapter Three: Transformation **

"Serena! Let's go! We're leaving in ten minutes."

"Yeah, yeah." I muttered, before yelling back: "I'll be right there!"

I sighed deeply and turned back to the small suitcase sitting on my bed. I'd already packed three pairs of jeans, several t-shirts, a green sweater, sneakers, my toothbrush, and a book. But there were just a _few _more things I had left to pack. I smirked to myself and began digging around under my bed, searching for the secret loose floorboard.

"Serena, have you seen my- what are you doing?" Chandra had entered my room, without knocking, like usual.

"Nothing!" I said, straightening up and brushing off my shirt. "Looking for… a pair of socks."

She rolled her eyes at me. "Still packing? You're even worse than Tristan."

I scowled at her. "Did you need something, or did you just want to pester me?"

"Oh yes. Have you my hair smoothing potion? I can't find it."

"No," I lied. "Why would I want that?"

"I dunno. Sorry, just wondering." She turned to leave, back to her room which was conjoined to my own through a shared bathroom. "You'd better hurry."

"I know, I know. Don't worry."

She turned and left, her less-than-smooth hair bouncing behind her. Truth was I _had _taken it, but for a much better cause than asinine silliness like _hair._

Every summer we spent one week at the Burrow with all of our Weasley "cousins". _All of them. _As much as I loved everybody and the Burrow, it still made me feel grateful for the Manor and my own (blessedly small) family afterwards.

I listened intently as Chandra left her room and clunked down the stairs with her suitcase. As soon as it seemed clear, I fell back onto my stomach with a thud and dug under my bed for the secret compartment. Ripping off the cover board, I yanked out a three sided mirror, Chandra's half-empty bottle of hair potion, and a small transportable cauldron.

I tucked the hair potion under my jeans, and laid the mirror on my bed for now. Using Super-Strength Spell-o Tape, I tried to secure the lid of the lightweight black pot. If it leaked I was _dead. _Probably pretty literally. I pushed that thought to the back of my head and shoved the cauldron into my suitcase.

Done. I reached for the mirror still sitting on my bed and folded it open, revealing the three sides.

"Vivian Kwan. Zelda Renaldi. Alexandria Lee."

The mirror's three faces glowed red for a moment, and then I was looking at the insides of a bedroom on two panels and blackness on a third.

"_Guys," _I hissed, waiting impatiently. The blackness on one disappeared as Vivian opened her mirror and appeared in the panel.

"Hey, Serena." I smiled at her.

Zelda soon appeared in her side, then Alexa right after her, the latter yawning and stretching.

"Wazzadeal? Why so early guys?" Alexa asked, still bleary eyed.

"Alexandria, it is nearly noon," Vivian snapped at her, her eyes shifting to that panel.

The three-way mirrors had been constructed and enchanted by Zelda about midway through last year. We'd been completely wrapped up in our business and trying to stay afloat in school, and Zelda found little ways (like this one) to help us.

"You all know I'm leaving in a matter of minutes," I began. "And I don't know when I'll be able to talk to you again until school starts. I just wanted to make sure we were all still set."

"You couldn't talk your parents out of it?" Zelda asked, looking concerned. The health risks associated with this whole endeavor seemed to weigh more heavily on her than us. It certainly looked like she hadn't been sleeping lately. "This is the critical week."

I shook my head. "They can't know that, obviously. And there was no talking them out of it."

"Are you going to be okay?" Vivian asked, concerned.

"Sure," I said, waving off her worries, exuding confidence I didn't feel. "In such a large, labyrinthine house it's pretty easy to sneak off."

"Is it now?"

"Shut up Alexa."

"But seriously," I continued. "Are you all set? Are we ready?"

Both heads nodded at me, and Zelda watched, chewing her lip.

"Good," I said. "Then… I guess we'll all see what happens. Midnight Friday."

There was a sudden crashing and the sound of doors slamming from downstairs.

"I've got to go," I said. "Good luck everyone."

They waved at me then popped off screen as I ended the connection. Shoving the mirror (carefully) in my suitcase, I snapped it closed and left my room. I paused in the space outside my bedroom. It was a small sitting room filled with two Victorian couches and several bookcases. I could see the staircase leading downstairs through the open door. Behind me were the doorways to Chandra's and my own bedrooms.

I paused, thinking. It wasn't technically illegal, right? In my parent's home at least. Where they were responsible for keeping track of my use.

Throwing caution to the winds, I pulled out my wand and tapped my suitcase, whispering a locking spell. Just in case.

Down the stairs, Dad was finishing getting the luggage into the car. I handed him my suitcase and he threw it in. Mom usually insisted that we drive to the Burrow. Probably for sentimental reasons. I didn't get it, personally.

I turned back and looked that the house one last time, sighing. The Manor stood like a stately but aging gentleman, outlined against the bright blue sky and half-covered in crawling ivy.

Dad came up behind me, clapping a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm not sure why you resisted this time," he said. "You usually have so much fun with your cousins."

"I know," I said, sighing.

"I hope you can put that behind you and have a good time anyway."

I peered up at him from under my hair. "Only if you can."

He smirked at me, opened his mouth, shook his head, and turned back to get into the car. Dad loved Mum, and that was probably the only reason she was able to drag him to the Burrow so often. He was usually harassed the whole week.

Tristan and Mum finally caught up with us, arguing as they walked. Tristan was still clutching his broom, obviously pleading, and she was shaking her head firmly.

Dad stepped out of the car. "'Mione, he's taking it. We have this discussion every time. He flies at school all the time, and doesn't get hurt there. Plus he needs to practice. It's his seventh year."

"Thank you!" Tristan said, throwing up his hands and getting in the car.

I sighed. This was sure going to be an interesting vacation.

"Hermione! It's so good to see you again!" Grandmother Weasley came running out to meet us, gripping my mother into a hug. "It's been ages. You really should come more often- or for longer at least."

She turned to my dad, suddenly going cold. "Malfoy."

He grinned sheepishly. "Hello Molly. Always a joy to see you again."

"It's Mrs. Weasley to you." She turned to my brother, and my parents walked into the house. He obviously didn't know I was following behind with my suitcase, because he leaned over to talk into Mum's ear.

"It's like I'm apologizing for marrying you. Did I ever tell you how _legitimately _scared I was she would castrate me after I got you pregnant?"

She snorted and thwacked his arm.

"Honestly!"

I screwed up my face in disgust, then carefully placed my suitcase down behind a couch and ran to greet everyone. The living room and kitchen was empty so I went outside, where groups of red-haired folks were standing around chatting. One messy black-haired head stood out

"Albus!" I yelled, running across the lawn. People knew well enough to get out of our way.

"Serena!" He turned just in time for me to hit him. We collapsed, laughing hysterically, as the my momentum pushed us over. He pushed me over and I pushed back, and we were rolling around like the six year olds we still half-were inside. He finally trapped me, holding my hands above my head and pinning my legs under each other awkwardly with one knee.

He stared down at me, grinning triumphantly. "Give in Malfoy."

I stared back up at him, in his stupidly twinkling green eyes. I felt myself suddenly start blushing _(blushing?)_ and the deep weight of embarrassment settled in my stomach.

"Umm… Yeah." I said, trying to look at something that wasn't his head. "Fine _Potter._"

"Don't be a bad sport," he said, finally getting off of me, and offering a hand to help me up.

"Where's Fred?" I asked.

"He was pestering my sister a minute ago, but he might be over by the cakes now…" Albus said, turning to try and find him. I squinted. The glare of orange was blinding me.

My question was answered for me when a pair of arms suddenly grabbed me from behind and starting twirling me around. I screamed delightedly and elbowed the body behind me, forcing him to drop me to rub his stomach. I fell on my bottom painfully.

"Hey Serena," he said, grimacing and still rubbing his abdomen. "Good to see you too."

I smiled good naturedly. "Always a pleasure Fred."

I stood up and Lily joined us. She had the same dark hair as her brother (but in much better care of course) and the same warmly mischievous brown eyes as her mother and eldest brother.

"What are you three up to?" she asked, leering at us. "You'd better not start anything, Grandma will be furious. And we're going to eat cake soon."

"Cake?" Fred asked, looking around as if it might drop out of the sky.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Serena- are you in our room? Do you want to bring up your stuff?"

"Oh, sure," I said, about to follow her, when we were interrupted by two tumbling, gangly figures.

"What's the big idea, Potter?"

"You know what you did Malfoy!"

All four of us were caught in the crossfire of the two arguing boys. Having just passed their Apparation Exams, they kept popping in and out of sight as they chased each other.

I made quick eye contact with Al and Fred, silently communicating my plan. They nodded, and when one of the two forms passed close to me, I kicked the legs out from under them, landing them on their bum.

"Fred!" The red-head jumped on top of the vulnerable body, pinning him. I looked over to see Albus and Lily had completed the same with the second boy.

Lily and I glared down at our brothers. Tristan Malfoy and James Potter grinned cheekily back up at us.

"_What _is going on?" Lily demanded.

"Nothing!"

"He took my broomstick and hid it somewhere."

"I did no such thing! You've simply lost it."

"No, it's true, he took it," I said, turning to Lily. "My brother's left eyebrow always twitches like that when he's lying."

Tristan glowered at me from under his blonde bangs. "You're no fun Serena."

"Sure I am," I said, smiling. "Just not when you threaten to get in the way of Grandma Weasley's famous chocolate cake."

The pair got up and dusted themselves off.

"You know…" Lily said, "for boys about to start their seventh year, you two are still an awful lot like third years."

"Watch it, you," said James said. He had the identically orange Weasley hair. _How in the world _that gene slipped through the Uncle Harry's supposedly dominant genes for darker hair, I'm still wondering.

Fred had mysteriously disappeared a few minutes prior, and the three Potters were called away by their mother, so I wandered off to try to find my sister. I found her chatting with Daniel Weasley, Uncle Ron and Aunt Chloe's only son. He went to Beauxbatons, since the family lived in France, where Chloe was in charge of Madame Rouge's- a famous Wizarding beauty products line.

Daniel was flipping his strawberry blonde hair as he talked. Chandra was watching him, mouth slightly open and eyes glazed over. I smirked slightly. Chloe was quarter Veela (still not sure _how _Uncle Ron managed to convince her to marry him), so Daniel's French accent and contemptuous French sneer had a kind of gravitating pull. Or so I'd heard.

"Come on Chay," I said, grabbing her elbow. "Let's go up to our room."

"Wha- No, I—" I dragged the squirming and arguing girl up after me to the room we shared with Lily, hauling my heavy suitcase in the other hand.

Lily came up to join us after a few minutes. She sighed and flipped her shiny black hair over her shoulder, then turned to us, excitement shining on her face. She turned to the two of us and let out an thrilled squeal and we found ourselves squished into one of her hugs.

"Lily- I can't breathe," I said, gasping and heaving for dramatic emphasis.

"Oh shut up," she mumbled, her voice muffled in somebody's shoulder. She pulled back and looked at us. "I've missed you two," she said. I couldn't help the smile that spread over my face and the warmth that spread through me. We weren't even technically related, and I was her enemy- an evil Slytherin to her proud Gryffindor roots yet that never stopped her.

"So- what are we doing tonight?" she asked, turning to her bed to unpack.

"Well…" my sister instantly began listing off possibilities.

"Serena- aren't you going to unpack?" my sister asked me.

"Uhh, nah, not right now," I said, throwing myself on my bed to mask the sudden anxiety I felt.

Chandra still let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head.

As much as I had tried to deny it when talking to my three comrades, there was honest and serious danger associated with what we were about to do. What I was about to do. This would change our lives forever- and even if it went perfectly well, there could still be serious repercussions. And if it wrong… I closed my eyes and forced the thought out of my head. It wouldn't go wrong. It _couldn't._ If it did, I'd never forgive myself. It was all my idea, after all.

_You have to do this,_ I thought, steeling myself. _It was for Zelda. She'd do the same for you._

But despite my convictions, a certain paragraph came floating back at me from my memory. One damn paragraph, right underneath the side effects clause which- terrifying as it was itself- had been nothing compared to this. The warning paragraph.

We probably considered it _first_, before starting this project. We'd read the entire book before starting, but at that moment, with the four of us crouched around a thickly bubbling cauldron sitting in a second floor bathroom, the warning suddenly felt more serious, more tangible and terrifying.

_I looked up, and my eyes met Vivian's. They were masked, nothing but her usual calm exterior. Even in 4__th__ year, she had completely mastered that art._

"_Are you sure?" I asked the girls around me. "If anyone wants to turn back, it's now or never," I said, my voice falling to a whisper. "If we quit now, the worst we can expect is flu-like symptoms and skin discoloration."_

"_Can you read it again?" Alexa asked, eyes closed, her voice wavering slightly._

_I nodded, even though she couldn't see me. My mouth was dry suddenly. _

" '_A warning to all: The fine art of Animorphmagi is not without risks. Those who fall prey to carelessness or sloppiness will suffer severe consequences. Wrong measurements, timing, proportions or techniques, missed steps, or inaccuracies can lead to an unsuccessful transformation, loss of limbs, bleeding, extreme nausea, and- most commonly- death.' "_

_There was a few minutes of silence as it sunk it. If we continued with this, we could __**die. **__Slowly, Alexa opened her eyes and smiled._

"_I'm in," she said._

"_Really?" Zelda asked._

"_Hell yeah." I smiled. _

_I met Vivian's eyes, and saw my own certainty mirrored. We needed no words. From that moment on, we were sealed. We were joint together- a team- inseparable and impenetrable in the strength of our bonds. This was it. _

The sudden pounding of footsteps and laughter snapped me out of my reminiscing. I sat up suddenly on my bed, opening my eyes. But it was just Percy's daughters, Molly and Lucy, and Fred's little sister Roxanne, who shared the room next to ours. The door next to ours slammed closed and the sound of raucous giggling seeped through the left wall. I rolled my eyes and laid back down.

"You really aren't going to unpack?" Chandra asked me, now sounding personally affronted.

"Nope," I answered. Couldn't risk them seeing… things.

Matriarch Weasley had probably ordered everyone to their rooms. I could hear Fred and Albus' muffled voices as they went up to their room on the other side of ours. The sound of loud metal music followed their door slamming closed. Somebody followed up after them- I assumed it was Daniel, their third roommate- and their was a low, rumbling explosion. Even over the still-blaring music, I could hear Fred laughing and Daniel yelling at him in French. I smiled to myself serenely.

The next day, we headed out for a Weasely Quiddich game. The day was warm and bright, and the weather was just perfect.

"Malfoy! You playing?" James Potter asked. He and my brother Tristan were organizing the teams.

My brother glared at me, narrowing his eyes. "You'd better, kid." He still hadn't forgiven me for ducking out of try outs last year. It's not that I didn't want to- I just knew there wouldn't be time. It had been the critical year for our… extra-curricular activities.

I had surprised everyone- including myself- last summer when I was cornered into joining the game by uneven numbers. Teddy Lupin had been _mysteriously missing. _As had been Victoire. So I joined in, flying for the first time since the Hogwarts lessons in first year. When you think about it, it really was a minor miracle I hadn't flown more than that, but I suppose most of Dad's efforts were focused on Tristan. And for good reason. But I guess there were some things that you just had in your blood, that couldn't be denied.

Some one handed me a broom, and I held the smooth wood, smiling to myself slightly. A nervous flutter ran up my stomach. What if I was no good now? I'd disappoint everyone.

"Serena! Let's go, you're on my team," my brother called after me. Tristan, Albus, Roxanne and I were on one team, James leading the other team with Fred, Lily and Daniel. Teddy and Uncle Charlie watched from the ground. Double refs were a definite necessity.

Flying again was…

There weren't even words to describe it. The rush of air after kickoff, the feeling of freedom, the bird's-eye perspective… Even though I knew _why _I'd done it, I regretted not joining the team last year. All nerves melted away into a focused determination. James was going _down. _

Afterwards- having ended the three hour game on a tie, to my great irking- we landed again and headed toward the house for dinner, Al walking in step with me.

"Think you're gonna join the team this year?" he asked.

"Dunno," I said, trying not to make any promises. But the look on my face was a dead giveaway. Potter's face split into a huge grin.

"You have to! We're out a Keeper, one Beater **and **two Chasers for next year- so you'll have your pick. Plus- I mean honestly… We can't have the Slytherin team be **without **a Malfoy, can we?"

I smiled back at him. "Suppose it would be against decorum." Albus had joined the team as Seeker in second year, only the second student to do so that early, becoming the youngest Slytherin Seeker since my dad.

"So- who's up for mischief tonight?" Fred asked, coming up behind Albus and I, throwing his arms around our shoulders.

"I can't," I said, trying not to look guilty.

"Why not?" Al demanded. Fred retracted his arms in shock.

"Don't tell us you're going soft Malfoy," Fred accused.

"No! Of course not. I just… can't." I forced myself to look at them. "How about tomorrow night?"

"Well…" Albus glanced at Fred, who shrugged and also avoided eye contact. "We'd love to, but…"

"We can't."

The rest of the evening passed quickly. Maybe too quickly. Dinner was quite the affair- the usual giant wooden table somehow enchanted to fit into the dining room and a million and one Weasleys and "would-be-Weasley's" crammed into one room. The chattering voices and amazing smells were thankfully adequate cover for my sudden loss of appetite tonight. Who could blame me? It was _**the night.**_

I let out a shaky breath and poked a few steamed vegetables around my plate, trying to make it look like I'd eaten. I looked around the table. For once, I was more uncomfortable than even my father, who was chatting quite civilly with Uncle Ron. Strangely, I noticed Fred and Albus were sitting slightly removed from the entire affair, and the two of them would occasionally exchange a nervous glance, and weren't eating much either. It wasn't that odd, I decided. We'd all find out what they were up to sooner or later.

I went through the motions of doing dishes like a ghost, feeling oddly empty inside. After tonight, I would be one of two things: dead, or in violation of international wizard law.

I laid awake in bed, waiting for my two roommates to fall asleep. About 1 am, when I could hear their slow and steady breathing, I snuck out from under my warm covers and dragged myself out of my comfortable bed. Holding my breath, I pulled the small cauldron out from under my bed, pushing aside the clothes hiding it, and I tip-toed down the stairs, careful not to let them creak.

The lawn was wet with dew, and I regretted not thinking to put on shoes. Or socks. Or something beside a nightgown.

I crossed the grass to the edge of an enclosure of trees, and felt an almost instant sense of relief at the cover. Once I felt somewhat safe, I set down the cauldron and stood up, staring at it.

It stared back at me.

Black pot and blonde girl.

Now or never.

And I preferred to live.

I took a quick breath, and threw off the lid, ignoring my violently shaking hands. I gripped the ladle sitting inside and pulled up a scoopful of the liquid inside. It was clear, perfectly similar to water, except that it seemed slightly lighter or less dense and gave off the scent of roses.

I closed my eyes and took the entire ladleful in one giant gulp. It tasted delicious. Or horrid. I wasn't sure.

I felt something changing almost instantly. The magic lingering in my body, the spells and potions I'd been performing and taking for the past two years reacted to this final step with vivacious vigor. It was like a long-lost lover they'd been waiting for.

Things were moving, changing, shifting. Something unperceivable, almost. Tiny changes in the structure of my being that by no normal terms I should feel, but- in this heightened sense of awareness- I could _sense._ I felt warm and cold and excited and terrified all at the same time.

A sudden wind picked up, blowing my hair around me. And as sure as I knew anything, I knew that now was the time, and I somehow knew exactly what to do.

One deep breath.

A shudder, running down my spine.

Excruciating pain- like my entire body was lit on fire and being ripped apart at the seams.

And who ever was ripping suddenly succeeded. It felt like my limbs and skin and organs tore right off my body and rearranged themselves.

Then- all sensation stopped. My vision was black. I felt like I was falling and spinning, like reality was slipping, or maybe I was just falling asleep. Yes, perhaps this was all some strange dream…

That notion was proved violently incorrect as my body gave one final, brutal tear.

A fierce growl suddenly escaped my lips.

I smiled, and there was an accompanying low rumble in my chest. I opened my eyes and looked down.

Two black paws.

I leapt into the air, reveling in my sudden power, this new strength. I ran to the Weasely pond, wanting to see my reflection. I felt fast, powerful, in control, feline, dangerous and stealthy.

I looked down into the water. The face of a black panther looked pack up at me, two large grey eyes reflected waveringly.

Throwing all caution to the wind, I let a ferocious snarl of victory. My heart was light and pounding with excitement and joy. I still couldn't believe it. I turned and began running, not really caring where I was going.

It was time to test this out.


End file.
